It’s hard to think that just a month ago, before the coronavirus crisis, the hot travel topics were overtourism and pollution and sustainable travel.

Venice was overcrowded and there were long lines at the Parthenon in Athens. There were major pollution concerns across many cities in China. Now, the Acropolis is empty. St Marks Square in Venice is more or less abandoned. There are no lines at the Louvre, and there is no traffic along the Via Veneto in Rome.

If there’s any good news that has come out of this, and perhaps lessons not only to learn but apply, it’s that the atmospheric pollution levels in China have dropped to lows not seen in decades.

And in Venice, the water clarity has returned in the waterways.

When travel resumes, it might be the best time to get out there and see these locations before overtourism and pollution issues become the conversation again.